Run Away, Astrid

ii. inside the dollhouse

ii. inside the dollhouse

━━━━ •◦இ•◦ ━━━━

Inside the home of the Gavi family, there is a lady, screaming and hurling valuable vases away. Family members, especially her husband, try to calm her down while attempting to escape being hit.

The lounge is spacious and well-lit, with gray and gold accents. Its walls are adorned with priceless artworks and treasures, the linens and upholstery are sumptuous, and the accessories are glitzy. The shattered fragments of glasses and vases that litter the floor, however, transform the sophisticated appearance into a maelstrom.

One should never truly provoke Demeter Gavi, the lady of the house.

"What do you mean by Astrid is missing?! No, she is not! She'll be home shortly! I'm sure she will!" Demeter shrieks, her eyes bloodshot, causing everyone in the room to flinch as her scream reverberates across the room.

Her husband, Orion, approaches her with caution, seeking to massage her shoulders. "Demeter, calm down. Throwing a tantrum will do nothing to get your daughter back," he says, glancing at the door as a young girl, who appears to be Astrid's age, enters the room.

The girl approaches them carefully, hesitant to approach anyone while the rest of the family members, with the exception of Demeter, gaze at her. She trembles quietly, feeling agony in the back of her throat.

Unable to toss another possession as Orion embraces her so tightly to stop her, Demeter continues to scream, "I will not stop if I can't find my daughter!"

Her sons sigh and shake their heads as they see her go into a frenzy. They are already accustomed to Demeter's behavior. If things don't go her way, Demeter will frequently go feral and have a tantrum in the living room or her bedroom. This used to bother them, but they ultimately became acclimated to it. This time, though, things are different since their only sister has gone missing.

Demeter's eyes land on the girl approaching them. "Selene!" she calls the girl's name. "Aren't you with Astrid yesterday?! How come she didn't return but you did?! How come she went missing?!"

Selene's gaze falls as she becomes agitated. "S-she . . ." She gulps, reluctant to tell Demeter the truth.

Demeter glares at her. "She what?!"

"Astrid . . ." She takes a deep breath. She doesn't want to tell them the truth for fear of breaking her vow to Astrid, but the strain of the family's glances at her as they wait for her to respond gets heavier, prompting her to give them what they want to hear. "Astrid wasn't with me yesterday. She . . . she's with someone else. She t-told you that she'll hang-out with me but the truth is that it's simply an excuse for her to hang out with . . . her."

Except for Ares, the eldest child, all of them frown in confusion when they hear what Selene says. "Her?" Ares asks.

Selene gives a nod. "Astrid has a girlfriend . . . She's been dating her for a few years and h-hasn't told you because she's terrified of what's to come."

Silence.

Cadmus, Eros, and Eryx, the other sons of Demeter and Orion, have their eyes wide and jaws down the floor; Orion frowns, refusing to believe it; and Ares doesn't have any reaction.

Demeter, on the other hand, breaks free from Orion's grip and approaches Selene. She grabs Selene's shoulders and shouts at her face, "Astrid has a girlfriend?!?"

Hearing her voice, Selene flinches, her soul departing her body. She shakily nods and mumbles, "Y-yes, you h-heard it correctly." Tears fall down, her thoughts rumbling inside her mind.